Make me a sinner

Roman just listened as she spoke. It was a lot of words. Normally he would be fine with it, but this was a very deep subject, that would make you think a lot. He looked at her and tilted his head slightly. ”Isn’t this just about labels. You label it as magic, I label it as science. In the end, it’s the same thing, but different words.” He folded his hands in his lap. He turned his head back and looked into the ceiling. ”Let’s do this for another eternity, then.” He felt like he could just be himself right now, which was something he desperately needed. He often felt on edge with other people, because he felt that he needed to be on guard and try to realize their intentions. It was exhausting.
He let out a deep breath, just feeling the tension in his shoulders disappearing. Maybe it was what she did, or maybe it was just because he relaxed. He turned his head to look at her again. ”Do you believe in god?” He was curious. It seemed so strange to him to believe in such a thing. His paternal grandparents had been religious, but he hadn’t been raised like that. Religion just seemed farfetched for him. It was in reality just some people who believed in something and then wrote it down and asking others to believe to avoid eternal damnation. It was ridiculous.

Roman smiled slightly at her cheer. He was not opposed to accept people might believe other things than him. In general, he believed people should live the life they wanted, as long they allowed him to do the same. He wanted the freedom to choose, so he offered the same to everyone else. But he would not easily be convinced, which he also felt was allowed. Others wouldn’t change for him, so why should he for them?
He listened to what she said about dragons. It was a fascinating story, really. He felt there could be some truth to it, if you took the dragons out of it. But he did believe there were people who could convince others they were godly. That didn’t necessarily mean they actually were. ”I’ll believe that before a bearded, all-knowing man sitting in the sky just watching us.” He looked over at her, when she stood up. ”If it’s no bother.”
Roman wouldn’t want to insult her, so he didn’t say much about believing in gods and the like. ”I was not raised with religion. In stead my parents just told me a witch would steal me away, if I didn’t do as they told. That was pretty fucked up.” He hadn’t realized how insane it was, until he had gotten away from them.

Roman smiled slightly when she mentioned she would drink to his words. At least they agreed on that. He nodded, when she mentioned she would happily give him a drink in return. It was nice to be appreciated like this. He gently touched his shoulder where her hand had rested when she moved away. He nodded. ”That’s the one. It sounds ridiculous now, but I believed it as a child.” He took the beer and quickly opened it to take a sip. He looked at her when she asked a question. He had to think about it for a bit. There was many places in the world, that could be interesting to go to. He took another sip and put it on the couch with his hand still around it. ”Brazil probably. Or Australia.” He had travelled through some countries on his way here. ”Or maybe just a trip around the world. It’s hard to choose.”

What she thought was correct. He hadn’t spoken to his parents for 4 years now. Even before he had been discovered with another man, they had been horrible to him. He was not speaking loudly about his sexuality, because he was afraid of being treated like his parents had treated him. He just didn’t need to put himself in such a situation, where he could be judged or even assaulted because of something as personal as sexuality.
He took a sip of his beer and imagined doing just what she said. It might be a little difficult for him at first, but the adventure in it, was very intriguing to him. ”One day I’ll go,” he decided. He wanted to go out there and experience things. ”I travelled through a lot of countries to get here. Every place was so different. I want to explore them for real one day, when I am not technically homeless.” It was a bit of personal information to share, but he felt save sharing it with her. Something told him, she had been through some things herself. ”It’s just about making the best of everything, I suppose.” He tried to do that. It was easier to get through everything, if he could have an explanation for it to have happened. But he made sure not to make excuses for some things. His parents being a perfect example.

Roman shook his head. ”Not anymore. I got a place when I moved here. Before that I was.” He appreciated her smile. He couldn’t exactly call his place a palace either. ”I lived luxuriously back in Russia. It took some time to get used to not doing that.” He understood why she preferred this over being homeless. It was better than not having a place to go home to. He took a sip of beer and turned his head to her, when she asked a question. Somehow it seemed familiar to him, to be asked something like that, but he couldn’t remember what it was. But he still felt the curiosity in his body. ”Pretty damn far,” he agreed. In reality, there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do to get a better life. He worked hard, but he also wanted to be able to enjoy himself, which he couldn’t do very much right now. So he was excited to hear what she would suggest to him.

Roman felt he had been through some fairly horrific things. However, many people around here had probably been through much worse. He just didn’t think trips to hells, supernatural arenas and being transformed into other beings. If he knew that, he might not be so quick to feel he had been traumatized. He was not very straight forward with his past, but sometimes it was easy to figure out things, if you read through the lines. He might not say it directly, but his words did have a lot of meaning behind them.
He listened when she explained her family was looking for members. His eyes lit up with recognition, when she mentioned The Serpents. Of course he knew who they were. It was impossible to live on the Southside and not know. He nodded and stayed quiet while she kept explaining. It sounded interesting. He would like to have a place to belong. He didn’t make friends easily, so to be part of something like this, would help him a lot in that area. He nodded a bit when she finished, offering to get him onto a heist. He didn’t need to think very long. He took a sip of the beer while thinking it over. ”Can you tell me anything about the heist?” He would understand why she might not be able to, he was just curious to know more about what kind of heists they were doing. ”Or maybe a past heist.”

Roman had to admit, the kind of work sounded interesting. He of course already worked as a bartender and he liked that too, but he didn’t think that would matter much. ”Would I have to quit my job?” He couldn’t function without his monthly salary, so he would prefer to just keep working besides working with them. But if they had to go away for long periods of time, it might not work that well. He would have to think it over, once he had all the information.
He nodded when he said they would go to Mexico. It seemed interesting, and he would like to go traveling a bit. ”That sounds intriguing,” he admitted. But he still had some concerns. ”I’ll have to think about it.” He moved his finger over ring-pull on the can repeatedly, as he was thinking a lot about the offer. He wanted to, but it also was very concerning to start something new. He might just want to have a trial run, if that was possible. He was sure it was. They would probably like to see how he was doing too. He was known for being kind of impulsive and he wasn’t really scared of death, which could be concerning in many ways. But it might be helpful in some situations too.
He took a sip and stared into the air. ”Could we do a trial run? I can’t make a decision right now.”

Roman felt more at ease, when she mentioned they all had jobs. That made it easy. Even more so, that Anastasia was going to be okay with it too. That was really all the worries he had. He was all for jumping straight into things, but when they needed more commitment, he was a little bit more cautious, just because he didn’t want to end up living a life he disliked. He listened when she spoke of a job she had coming up.
It could be a good opportunity to get a taste of it. He had been stealing cars before, so it was not that difficult for him to get on board with. ”I don’t need to think. I just needed to have my questions answered, it would seem.” It was not always easy to be a control freak with barely any impulsive control. Those two traits seemed to crash a lot, which had proven to make it hard to make decisions at times. ”I’ll go with you,” he agreed. The most important part was he didn’t have to lose his job. He just couldn’t survive without it. He was sure being a part of The Serpents had its perks, but he would still feel strange about having to ask help with money issues. He was just too proud for that. And asking for help in general. ”Are there some things I should know beforehand? About The Serpents.”

Roman took her hands. He nodded to her explanation. It made sense she needed to introduce him to who he assumed were the leaders. And the tattoo was really no problem for him. He had plenty already. The biggest issue was figuring out where the tattoo should be placed. He was already trying to decide. He didn’t mind holding her hand. It was weirdly comforting to him. Maybe because he had just agreed to enter into what can best be described as family, which he desperately needed at this moment in time.
Loyalty was a fairly straightforward rule. He had expected as much. Of course, it might be a little deeper, as she herself suggested. He would figure things out when the time was right. Now he was just looking forward to get through the start and become a member. He was not very much for waiting periods, but that was impossible to avoid. So he would just have to distract himself until then. ”Sure, that sounds good.” There was a lot to get used to, but he was trying not to overthink and just handle everything as it arose. There was no need to worry about things that might not come to be.

Roman put his hand on his knee. He watched her as she turned all the way around, laying upside down. ”I’ll try my best. But this is the Southside and I’m a bartender.” He let out an agreeable hum. ”Me neither. But I’m okay with it.” He finished his beer and placed the empty can on the table. He had expected them to spend the night in a bed, but it had taken a completely different turn. But he felt this would give him more in the long run. Sure, staying the night with her would have been nice too, but it was likely not giving him much further than a single night. He nodded when she mentioned when they should meet and what he should wear. ”I’m dressed colorfully today. My clothes are mostly black or gray.” He took hold of the finger she had put forward. ”How long do you think it’ll take?” He just wanted to know if was going to be a day or more.

Roman laughed quietly. ”I didn’t know your were a stylist on the side.” He decided to slide off the couch onto the floor, now more face to face with her, even though she was still upside down. ”I can get on your bike,” he agreed. He wanted to get one himself, but those were expensive. For now, he was just walking around, sometimes renting or borrowing a car, if he had to go far away. He nodded when she told how long it would take. ”Sounds good.” He saw her yawn. He should probably get home too, but he was having a nice time with her. He put a hand on her shoulder. ”Go sleep. We’ll have plenty of time to hang out.” Normally he would never promise something like that, but if he was to be involved with The Serpents, it would be impossible for them to avoid each other. He also had some things to do in the next couple of days, so he needed the rest. ”I should get going anyways.” The thought of getting on a bike again was exciting to him. He had missed the feeling it brought forward. It was a very specific kind of thrill.

Roman could hear in her voice. The want for something. He wondered for a moment what it could be but got distracted when she offered a hand. He took it and stood up. He walked to the door and looked out, only to see the rain falling down heavily. ”I’ll try not to.” He looked at her and wondered something for a moment. Did she want him to stay?
He could be reading it completely wrong, but it felt like she wanted more from him. He did so too, but the prospect of having her as friend had stopped him. But if he was to become a serpent, he wouldn’t be able to avoid her. He would have to get along with her. And he believed he could, maybe. Hopefully.
He walked the few steps to her and looked down into her eyes. ”If you want something, take it.” He wanted to be sure, if he was right in his guess of what it was she wanted. He believed things could be different with her, if he allowed them to be. Maybe she could be both a friend and something more.